Two Tar Heels projected in first round of the 2025 MLB Draft

By R.L. Bynum

Two North Carolina players are projected first-round 2025 MLB Draft picks, and a third is in the top 100 of a list D1 Baseball released on Friday.

A pair of Tar Heels coming off impressive freshman seasons but draft-eligible in 2025 are ranked highly — catcher Luke Stevenson at No. 11 and pitcher Folger Boaz at No. 29 — with right-handed pitcher Cameron Padgett projected as the No. 94 pick.

Stevenson and Boaz are eligible since they both turn 21 after next season.

Carolina hasn’t had two players picked in the top 30 since 2017, when the Houston Astros picked pitcher J.B. Bukauskas at No. 15 and the Toronto Blue Jays selected infielder Logan Warmouth at No. 22. That year, the Miami Marlins picked left fielder Brian Miller at No. 36.

No. 11 would be the highest a Tar Heel has been picked since the New York Mets made pitcher Matt Harvey the No. 7 overall pick in 2010.

Six Tar Heels were picked in last week’s MLB draft: center fielder Vance Honeycutt (No. 22 overall in the first round to the Baltimore Orioles), left fielder Casey Cook (No. 103 overall in the third round to the Texas Rangers), right fielder Anthony Donofrio (No. 303 overall in the 10th round to the Seattle Mariner), relief pitcher Dalton Pence (No. 345 overall in the 11th round to the Texas Rangers), pitcher Shea Sprague (No. 387 overall in the 13th round to the Boston Red Sox) and Aidan Haugh (No. 488 overall in the 16th round to the Minnesota Twins.)

Stevenson, who played at Wake Forest High School, smoothly took over catching duties after the graduation of Tomas Frick and excelled behind the plate with an outstanding throwing arm. The 6–1, 210-pound left-handed hitter batted .284 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI while drawing 48 walks in 65 games.

Stevenson, who made D1 Baseball’s All-America Freshman first team, hit a game-tying ninth-inning homer run on June 7 in UNC’s 8–6 victory over West Virginia in the Chapel Hill Super Regional opener.

Stevenson played for the USA in the Summer League Tour team earlier this month.

The 6–2, 190-pound Boaz, out of East Surry High School, was the Tar Heels’ No. 1 starter from the opening weekend after projected ace Jake Knapp suffered a season-ending injury in January.

Boaz went 3–1 with a 5.77 ERA with 19 walks and 39 strikeouts in 39 innings before the left-hander suffered a season-ending injury to his pitching arm during a 2⅓-inning start on April 9 against South Carolina in Charlotte.

Padgett, a 6–3, 185-pound right-hander who will be a junior next season, was 1–0 last season in 17 appearances, including two mid-week starts. He had a 5.83 ERA with 10 walks and 20 strikeouts in 29⅓ innings.

This summer, Padgett is playing for Bourne in the Cape Cod League, where he is 0–1 and hasn’t given up an earned run in three outings, including two starts, over 9⅓ innings with three walks and 10 strikeouts.

D1 Baseball projects outfielder Jace LaViolette of reigning national champion Texas A&M as the No. 1 pick.

Other ACC players projected for the first round are Florida State left-handed pitcher Jamie Arnold at No. 3, Clemson outfielder Cam Cannarella at No. 7, Virginia first baseman Henry Ford at No. 14, Florida State outfielder Max Williams at No. 24 and Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston at No. 26.

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics